Freiburg:
a strange ring-shaped building houses 1001 bikes spaces on the second
floor and bike-related services on the third. While the parking
business is far from profitable, the services are. The bike café is
breaking even, but it is especially the bike vendor, the travel agency
run by the DB (the national rail operator) and the mobility centre
(taxis, car rental, car pooling, etc.) that are profitable.

The
objective of the mutualisation of services is to make up for the
financial losses related to the bike parking facility. The bike point
“Mobile” is managed by a group independent of the city.

Methods:

"Das Mobile"

Description of the offer :

Freiburg’s « Mobile » Bike point is easily visible from the
streetcar bridge (on which several streetcar lines run), which crosses
all the tracks of the railroad station (direct access to each
platform). The easiest access for cyclists is on the other side, by an
entrance opening directly onto the second floor, while the exit is onto
the bridge, on the third floor. The third-floor services are thus
readily visible by travellers (passers-by or streetcar passengers), who
can easily access them if they wish to use them.

A task force including the regional branches of the ADFC
(Allgemeiner Deutscher Fahrrad Club, the German cyclist’s association)
and the VCD (Verkehrsclub Deutschland, the association for the
promotion of “clean” traffic) was set up in 1988. In 1993 came the idea
of building a mobility centre in addition to the parking facility so as
better to connect all forms of travel. The task force was expanded to
include another environmental association (BUND), FAG (Freiburg Auto
Gemeinschaft, the car pooling partner) and Pro Bahn (the rail partner).
Once the work was completed, the Rolf+Holtz architects’ firm designed
the architecture under the direction of the city (which funded the
project). « Das Mobile » was opened in 1999. Six operators took over
the third-floor premises and the parking facility office.

Initially
the management was ensured by the FaMoz (Fahrradstation und
MobilitätsZentrale) group, made up of VCD, BUND and FAG. At present,
FAG alone remains in the management group; the ADFC left it in
2007, followed by VCD and by BUND.

Funding :

The
city paid the full cost of the building (3.8 million DM in 1999, i.e.
1.8 million euros), but charges the FaMoZ group a yearly rent and does
not pay any subsidy at all. The surface area belongs to the DB
(railroad company), which refused to do away with the car parking
spaces (100 spaces). The cost per bike space was in fact increased as a
result, since the building is constructed on piles.

As the
financial situation of the parking facility had become difficult, the
price of parking was increased from 0.5 to 1€ a day early in 2008.
(other prices: 10€ per month, 80€ per year. There are two hundred
passholders, half of whom leave their bike at night.)

Communication :

The
building is very visible, with a large banner on the traffic
side. However, the city does not advertise. The city website has
only a picture and an accompanying text presenting the
architectural achievement.

Résults :

- Strengths : The
bike-related services are quite profitable overall, particularly the
bicycle shop (repair, rental and sale), the car pool and the DB travel
agency. All together they employ a dozen people.

- Weaknesses : The cost of the
building is relatively high (obligation of leaving the ground floor
available for cars) and the city, wishing to limit its bike-related
expenditure (in Freiburg, bicycles account for 1% of the city’s overall
traffic costs, whereas the modal share of bicycles is 25 to 30% in the
city centre), charges a high rent for the use of the building, which is
a source of financial difficulty for the managing group (debts).

The
bike parking facility has an occupancy rate of only 40%, due to the
fact that it is relatively far from the main platform (track 1, which
is on the other side of the bridge). Moreover, the managing group,
presently called « mobile ggmbh », now has only une member (FAG =
Car-Sharing Südbaden - Freiburg e. V.), which makes its operation more
difficult.